This month’s success story is an example of how Organizational Architecture assisted its client, Shaffer Capital, with a recruiting challenge. Shaffer Capital was in search of a new Client Service Associate. Shaffer Capital is a financial planning firm located in Westerville, OH. They help their clients plan for retirement and achieve financial success through informed investments and risk management solutions. Matt Shaffer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shaffer Capital, said: “We asked Organizational Architecture to help us fill the position because of our positive experience with them in the past. We knew they would listen to our unique needs and work with us to find someone who could be successful in our business. Organizational Architecture worked closely with us to think about the responsibilities of the job and the experience needed to perform those duties effectively. The candidates they screened for us had the characteristics we were looking for, which made the selection process much easier. They presented to us four qualified candidates who brought unique talents and styles which gave us options when making our selection decision. Not only did we find a great new team member, but we also connected with candidates who may have a future spot with us”. As mentioned in Part 1, we spent time doing a bit of work on the front end of the search outlining the necessary competencies for the job. Developing and identifying these screening criteria helped make our recruitment fast, efficient, and effective. Do you need assistance with a strategy for effective recruitment? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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Today’s success story highlights how Organizational Architecture helped its client recruit the right person to fill an opening in their office. Our client is a financial planning and investment management company located in Westerville, OH. We have a long-standing relationship with this client and were excited to help them again. One of the initial steps we took was to update the job description. We worked closely with our client to determine how this role fit into their organization as well as the necessary duties and responsibilities. Spending time on the job description ensured we sourced, screened, and selected candidates efficiently and effectively. It also helped us streamline the recruitment process and find the right person for the job. Additionally, by taking the time to update the job description to fit their present needs, the new hire would understand exactly what was expected of them when they started and be able to meet those expectations. Do you need assistance with a strategy for effective recruitment? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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We are pleased to share that Organizational Architecture has been certified as a Veteran Owned Small Business. This program is part of the US Department of Veteran Affairs and ensures that government set-aside funds are awarded to legitimate firms owned and controlled by Veterans. OA participated in a lengthy verification process over several months. Besides the recognition of being a Veteran Owned Small Business, this certification will help us reach new clients. It will also give us opportunities to work more closely with government and other public agencies. Want to learn more about us and our human resources consulting services? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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As mentioned in Part 1, finding the right people for your business can be difficult. Here are some of the recommendations we make to help our clients find the right people: Take the time to write a good job description. The job description becomes your guide for identifying and screening talent effectively. Articulate the need to have versus the nice to have, competencies or behaviors needed to be successful, years of experience, degrees, etc.; this goes a long way to making the screening and selection process easier. Don’t use the job description as your job posting. Job descriptions are important but they can be pretty dry reading. Take the important characteristics of the job description to let candidates know what you are seeking, but make sure you include information about your company, why you are the employer-of-choice, and what makes you a great place to work. Your job postings should attract candidates…just like your marketing attracts customers. Use as many means to engage with the labor market as you can. Your website, a more general internet job board, and something targeted to the profession of the candidates are all good starts. Get the word out through your employee referral program and let your colleagues know on social media. Use the sourcing method appropriate to the candidates you seek. Don’t use a professional networking site like Linkedin.com for candidates who are not career-oriented. Make sure your hiring managers and selection team know how to interview properly. This not only guarantees you don’t get into legal trouble when people ask illegal questions, but also helps them successfully uncover information about the candidates. Always be on the lookout for good talent. Connect with people at trade shows. Stay engaged on social media. Source continuously. Participate in events that help showcase your company to the labor market. Finding the right people at the right time to serve your customers the right way is more of a process than an event. It takes work and it takes dedication. If you haven’t done so, consider adding a talent acquisition or recruitment specialist who can keep your talent pipeline full. Also think about talent pro-actively, instead of only when you have an opening to ensure you...
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In our Human Resources consulting practice, one of the problems clients often share with us is the difficulty they have with finding the right people. Many times, we find only a haphazard process [or no process] behind their recruitment efforts. Here are some of the things we uncover: Talent acquisition, or recruitment, only happens when a position is open. That is, there is no real engagement with the labor market other than the times they need to fill a position. Candidate sourcing approaches are inconsistent, or the sourcing methods are not the best for the candidate pool they are trying to engage. There is no clear and compelling messaging to candidates about why they should want to work there. No work has been put into defining what is needed and then seeking that out in the candidate pool. In many instances, companies go back to one sourcing approach, for example posting an ad on their website or an internet job board. Or they rely too much on employee referrals. Don’t get me wrong…referrals are a great source and you should use them, just be careful about overusing them to the point that your employees don’t bring the breadth of skills needed for today’s jobs. Here are some of the reasons we find for why the recruitment process isn’t working: There’s no process. There isn’t a defined process for determining headcount needs, much less a recruitment strategy. This can lead to results no better than random…here you would save a lot of time simply flipping a coin when making hiring decisions. Looking for the purple squirrel. The ‘purple squirrel’ or ‘unicorn’ is what recruiters refer to as the mythical candidate that not only has all the characteristics being sought by the hiring manager, but also possesses others that can be contradictory or well beyond the needs of the job. Think: CNC machinist with a PhD or the executive-level finance leader who will also be the payroll processor. Not being clear on ‘need to have’ versus ‘nice to have’. People may not distinguish between what is mission-critical [required] in a candidate versus what is preferred [nice to have]. Wasting time on the nice-to-haves can divert you from moving on good candidates sooner....
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When we find a client struggling through corrective action, we show them the process to manage performance effectively so that they can make better decisions about performance management outcomes. If they have not done so, we facilitate a discussion of what is expected of the role, both in terms of job duties and expected behaviors. This often helps the client focus on the specific performance issues. Scan their employee handbook and policies and procedures. Often overlooked, the descriptions of what is acceptable and what is not may be found here. This helps develop a plan to manage performance and hold people accountable. Uncover exactly what the performance issues are. Are they related to failing to meet key performance indicators, sales or production goals? Are they violating company policies? Do they behave in ways that are not appropriate for their role? Once the client has defined the issue, we then assist with preparing corrective action tools that can be used in coaching, corrective action, or if necessary, termination, to ensure the process is firm, fair, and consistent. Managing poor performance is a challenge. It’s often not pleasant, but if you can save a poor performer by learning to address performance issues clearly and thoughtfully when they arise, you’ll strengthen your business. While it may ultimately require the most drastic action such as termination of employment, in most cases effective performance management leads to performance improvement, which saves time and money on recruitment, training, and maintaining employee morale and productivity. Do you have questions about effective performance review systems? If you need assistance with this or other human resource needs, contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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